Death and the Maiden

by J.I. Radke

Even the most lawless of creatures have laws, and for vampires, the sacrifice system is the most important. For every ten members of a coven, the sophisticated blood-drinkers have one “sacrificial lamb” to keep the worlds of the living and the Undead balanced. August Prescott finds this fascinating—once he accepts the world is not what it seems. Kidnapped and kept in isolation, lack of memory troubles him but helps him fall into this society without resistance. August befriends Theo, who may or may not be the only one August trusts, and when it’s Theo’s turn to drink from him in the “Sanctuary,” August could believe he’s in love. And so could fifty-year-young vampire Theo, because August doesn’t look at Theo like he’s a monster. But Theo’s afraid of loving and must decide if he’ll waste eternity or welcome August into it. According to the Lamb, the chilling sovereign of blood-drinking Undead, that might be fate’s design. And if living forever means foregoing the comforts of humanity for Theo’s kisses, Theo’s arms, and Theo’s love, August is ready to turn.

Genres: Paranormal, M M Romance, Vampires, Historical, Victorian

294 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 11, 2015

Reviews

[Rennie Chen · Rating 5 out of 5]

My friend wrote this and I am incredibly pleased to say it's amazing. It's such a beautiful story, and I adore it. I wish there is a sequel!!!

[Inked Reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

FiveStars
This book was beautiful while at the same time painful...

I felt so bad for August with what he went through when he was taken. The pain of knowing the vampires could kill him if they really wanted to and losing everything from your life before. To go from pain to love for Theo and his new family the coven of vampires. To not really understand about what was expected of him to the knowledge that he was a very important part to this family. August also comes to a very important decision about his life and what he wants to do with it after his time at the coven is through.

Wow this book blew me away! I went into this unsure having never really read a historical vampire romance before to now hoping that this will be a series so I can see more of August after what happened to see how he is dealing with it all.

I did not want to put this book down once I started it. You have Theo the brooding vampire at times who hated the man that turned him and was worried about August. Then you have Ishmael which honestly I did not like him after the things he did to August out of spite.

This book takes you into the life of a vampire coven and there sacrifice. How they live together day to day as a family and there Alpha keeps everyone happy and on track. While also is in charge of dealing with the vampire who would cause trouble in his coven. To be completely honest I would love to read a book about Alistair the Alpha. His character really drew me in and I would love to know more about him.

All together I loved this book!

I would definitely recommend this book!

I received a free copy of this book to read and review for Inked Rainbow Reads.
Kara

[Kara · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was beautiful while at the same time painful...

I felt so bad for August with what he went through when he was taken. The pain of knowing the vampires could kill him if they really wanted to and losing everything from your life before. To go from pain to love for Theo and his new family the coven of vampires. To not really understand about what was expected of him to the knowledge that he was a very important part to this family. August also comes to a very important decision about his life and what he wants to do with it after his time at the coven is through.


Wow this book blew me away! I went into this unsure having never really read a historical vampire romance before to now hoping that this will be a series so I can see more of August after what happened to see how he is dealing with it all.


I did not want to put this book down once I started it. You have Theo the brooding vampire at times who hated the man that turned him and was worried about August. Then you have Ishmael which honestly I did not like him after the things he did to August out of spite.


This book takes you into the life of a vampire coven and their sacrifice. How they live together day to day as a family and there Alpha keeps everyone happy and on track. While also is in charge of dealing with the vampire who would cause trouble in his coven. To be completely honest I would love to read a book about Alistair the Alpha. His character really drew me in and I would love to know more about him.

All together I loved this book!

I would definitely recommend this book!



I received a free copy of this book to read and review for Inked Rainbow Reads.

[Alison · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. This was neat and enjoyable. It's a different sort of vampire love story and I liked that. There's a lot to like here. Set in Victorian London, it's a slow-paced, quiet, thoughtful story and has a little of the feel of a nineteenth century novel. The writing is smooth and lyrical. The historical setting is well done and I enjoyed the lovely, rich atmosphere. The characters are interesting and, for the most part, quite broody, though I didn't connect with either of the main characters especially. I was a little surprised at how easily and without fuss August took to his role as a blood slave. There are some great secondary characters, like the especially broody alpha, Alistair, and the Lamb (the vampire king), who was pretty awesome, but only appears in one scene. The vampire lore is a little different and the strict rules they live by are interesting. There are some unanswered questions at the end, so I wonder if a sequel is planned. This was different and interesting and I liked it a lot.

[Misty · Rating 4 out of 5]

** 4.5 Stars **

It's an intriguing journey into August Prescott's new life as a sacrificial lamb who is trying day after day to make sense of it all . It's a very unusual and strange Victorian Vampire novel but in a good way! Don't expect high drama and angst, it's not that kind of story! For me reading this book was like doing a puzzle and I loved it! Recommended for those looking for something completely different.


"The house of vampires was disturbingly like a big family, an apparatus that depended on routines like well-oiled cogs of clockwork, a curtain that opened nightly on immortals masquerading as humans. And it happened all over the world, August realized."

[Shelba · Rating 2 out of 5]

I want to give this a higher rating. The writing was good, but for whatever reason, this took me almost 3.5 months to read. The first few chapters captivated me, and the last few were interesting, but the 15 or so chapters in between it was as though nothing of note happened. But maybe the issue is just that I'm exhausted with vampire novels. That being said, Theo seemed a little void of character and August's rapidly faded. And I didn't like the epilogue.

[Nelder · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought the way the characters developed thru' the story was stupendous.

[Theodora IK]

DNF on chapter 4 because I cheated, looked at the ending and totally lost motivation. Also, I couldn't enjoy the writing style.